Wagon-brake.



No..705,06l. Patented luiy 22, !902.

C. A. FRANCIS.

WAGON BRAKE.

(Application filed. Mar. 10, 1902.)

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(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT rrisni CHARLES A. FRANCIS, OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA.

.WAGON-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. *705,061, datecl July22, 1902. Application filed March 101902. Seria] No. 97,397. (No model.)

To all whom !lb may (Jon/067 77,.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. FRANCIS, a citizen of the United States,residing at South Bend, in the county of St. Joseph and State ofIndiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inWagon-Brakes; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the inventiomsuch as will enable others skilled inthe art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference markedthereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to braking mechanism for vehicles, and hasparticular relation to the brake block or shoe which Contacts With thewheel. u

So far as I am aware the braking pressure is in most cases applied onthe face of the wheel or tire. In other words, it is applied in adirection radial to the wheel. As a result the operator is compelled toapply excessive power to the brake-lever attempting to form a lockbetween the brake-shoe and the axle. Another form used consists inproviding a clamp for the wheel-rim, the clamping members being broughttogether on opposite sides of the wheel-rim and in planes parallel withthe faces of such sides, thereby when the brakedever is operated forcingthe blocks into direct contact with the sides of the wheelrim. In thiscase the wheel is to be held gripped between the two blocks, with aresult that a constant and heavy strain is placed on the support for theshoes with a tendency to break the parte. With the latter arrangementthe wheel must be either 'free or firmly gripped, and consequently thestrain is sudden, with a liability of the parts breaking.

In the present invention the wheel rim or tire is gripped at its edges,but with a gradually-increasing pressure and a constant forcing of agripping action with a minimum amount of power and without a tendency ofattempting to force the wheel against the axleskein to the damage of thelatter.

The object, therefore, of my invention is to provide a braking mechanismin which the pressure to be applied is graduallyincreased simultaneouslywith a clamping action of the shoe on the sides of the rim or tire.

A further object is to provide a'brake-shoe 'steel tire.

which will clamp the wheel rim or tire on its edges with increasingpressure and without the use of toggle-Ievers and the like.

Other and further objects will appear as the invention is hereinafterdisclosed.

To these and other ends my invention consists in braking mechanismsubstantially as herein shown and described, and particularly pointedout in the appended clains.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a pe'spective View of abrake-shoe constructed in accordance With my invention. Fig. El is aside elevation showing the brake-shoe support, a portion of the wheel,and my improved shoe in position. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional Viewot' the brake-shoe and showing it applied to a wheel having the ordinaryFig. 4 is a similar View showing the Shoe appled to a channel-tire ofthe usual form. Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the shoe applied to theordinary steel tire With a snow-sleeve in position on the tire.

My improved brake-shoe is for'ned, substantially, as shown in Fig. 1 anddesignated in the drawings as A. Said shoe comprises a fastening-plate aofsuitable length and width, from the side edges of which extend flangesa' a', arranged at an angle greater than a right angle to the plate a,thereby forming a fiared recess between the fianges. The ends of theplate a' extend beyond the flanges and are curved forwardly, as shown ata said ends being designated as a The shoe is secured in position on theShoe-support in any suitable manner,preferably by bolts,in which casethe plate a, is preferably provided with countersunk openings c Bdesignates the felly of a wheel, and b the tire therefor. The tire maybe the ordinary steel tire or the tire used in connection -with a rubbertire, in the latter case the tire h being what is known as channel-tire.The fianges a' being inclined as shown and spaced relatively to eachother are adapted to eXtend when in use on opposite sides of thewheelrim, the outer portion of the recess between said fianges beinggreater than the width of the wheel-tire. It will be readily seen thatas pressure is applied bythe operator there is first a slight contactbetween the edges of the tire and the inner faces of the flanges therebycausing a f'ictional resistance which is increased rapidly by thecontinued pressure of the operator, causing the flanges to be forcedover the edges of the tire a greater distance, and this is due maiuly tothe fact that the angle at which said flanges extend is sufficientmerely to cause the clamping of the flanges with the edges of the tire,such angle being obtained by spacing the flange relative to each other.Were the angle abrupt, the clamping effect would be lost, as thepressure would be applied at the outer edges of the tire, thus reducingthe frictional resistanceandreguiringexcessivepressure. There istherefore formed not only the pressure which is applied by the operator,but also a biting or gripping action due to the inclined sides of theflanges, and inasmuch as the application of this gripping action is not,generally speaking, on a stationary wheel, but rather on a body that ismoving, the tendency is for the tire to eat its way into the fiaredrecess, and thus aiding in looking the wheel Without a requirenent ofexcessive application of power. As the flanges are of considerablewidth, the tire does not pass into the recess a distance sufficient tocause the face of the tire to contact with the face of the plate a,thereby leaving a space between the face of the tire and the face ofsaid plate, so that auxiliary appliances, such as a snoW-sleeve b', canbe used, or if the shoe is to be used in connection with a rubber-tiredwheel, in which case a channel-tire is used, the surface of the rubbertire will not contact with the face of the plate a, thereby permittingof the use of any special type of tire desirable.

The curved ends a? of the plate a are provided for the purpose ofclearing the tire from extmneous matter.

Having thus described my invention, what 40 I claim as new is 1. In abraking mechanisn for vehicles, a brake-shoe having spaced integralinclined faces located in opposed relation to the wheel being braked andadapted to form a frictional contact with the outer edges of thewheel-tire as pressure is applied, the face of the tire being free fromcontact with said shoe, the face of said shoe being fiat and inparallelism with the face of the wheel.

2. A brake-shoe for vehicles comprising a supporting-plate having spacedintegral forwardly-projecting flanges arranged at an angle to the faceof said plate, said flanges being located in opposed relation to thewheel being braked, whereby a flared recess of fixed dimensions will beformed between said flanges for the reception of the wheel-tire, theface of the latter being free from contact With the shoe, the face ofthe said plate being flat and in parallelism with the face of thewheelrim.

3. A brake-shoe for vehicles comprising a supporting-plate havingintegral forwardlyprojecting flanges arranged at an angle to the face ofsaid plate, as a', whereby a fiared recess of fixed dimensions will beformed between said flanges for the reception of the wheel-tire, theends of said plate projecting beyond the flanges and being curvedforwardly, to form clearers for the shoe.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHAS. A FRANCIs. lVitnesses:

J. DU SHANE, M. A. NOISOM.

